


Legend of Party 137

by WwolfJade123



Series: HoloEN Adventure Videogame AU [2]
Category: Hololive
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, I-it's eventual..., RPG AU, Tags May Change, Video Game Mechanics, slow burn(?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:01:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29860551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WwolfJade123/pseuds/WwolfJade123
Summary: The Royal Family of Őzeanâ calls their presence in a form of a what looked like a rushed letter Since Gura was somewhat apart of their Militia, they ultimately decided to take a visit, excited to take on new Adventures.The Meeting... ended in a disaster, and it's up to our Adventurers to fix this whole mess.
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive), Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara
Series: HoloEN Adventure Videogame AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173551
Comments: 12
Kudos: 83





	1. After Quests

**Author's Note:**

> Now I said I'll be dropping this off next Friday and also told ya'll to be High Alert if this thing comes out. And it did! Sasuga boku...
> 
> Make sure you've read the Prologue before diving in. All in all, Welcome to my World of Games! Their Majesty has assigned you to:
> 
> #Party137

Downtown was definitely in a buzz. The merchants' shouts from here and there, people's feet crunching the gravel, and of course, Kiara whistling the melody of a song she made up minutes earlier.

She had just finished her own sets of Quests and was excited to go home and rest. But even if she wanted to pester her beloved shadowling and make the others vomit at their display of… weirdness, the quests she took today were more harder than the usual.

And when she felt like she’d just gone through some part of hell, a chat with the Old Man by the alleyway made Kiara feel relieved, the guy held an aura that made him easier to let out her stress without lashing out. Before she knew it, she had come to love this benefit and came back again an again unconsciously.

"Kiara!" She turns at the call of her name and speak of the devil, Old Man was there, waving her way with a huge smile. She returned the smile and made her way to his side. "How are you, little phoenix?"

Kiara lets out a chuckle as the Old Man gives her a head pat, "For the nth time, I'm not a phoenix." She sits down next to him with a rather exhausted sigh. The Old Man winced from the corner of her eyes, his actions growing a tad bit cautious of her mood, "So how are things here in Downtown?"

Catching the change of subject, he replies: "Things are great! The tradings are going great." His eyes suddenly light up and he turns to Kiara, “You should have been there and saw me trade a silver sword for three dimes!” The Old Man starts to search for the traded sword while laughing quietly to himself. The sight quite amusing if Kiara says so herself.

She was somewhat left in awe when she saw the sword. Silver material that shined in the sunlight, and a handle that looked comfortable from look alone. 

"Pretty cool huh?" He boasts.

"Yeah… and you got this with three dimes? Isn't that a little suspicious?" She asks, worried for this old man's safety. She’s had her fair share of encounters with Trade Breakers and faintly remembers that they were  _ not _ fun to deal with.

He scoffs, "You don't trust me that much, girl. When I tell you that it's safe, it's safe.” A look crossed his face that Kiara can’t put a finger on. But before she could ask what was going on, the Old Man flashed a too bright smile, that she had trouble reciprocating, “The trade wasn't even illegal because-"

"Both sides agreed to accept. I know the basics of trading as well, Old Man." She intervenes, booping his nose like a Mother would do to their delinquent child.

The old man stares at her for a while, before a slow grin forms on his face. And Kiara already knows what he was going to say next, "Is it safe to assume that your  _ girlfriend _ taught you that one?" The smug  _ dripped  _ from his voice. Oozing like no one’s business.

Kiara blushes, like she always does when the subject falls on her shadowling, "What?" Her voice squeaked. She shakes her head and looks away, trying and failing to hide her red face, "I-I-I don't have a girlfriend!..."

"Wait really?” The question sounded sincere, but from the look in his eyes, she knew he was only teasing her. Challenging her in some way. “The pink haired girl from yesterday wasn't your lover?" Kiara timidly shakes her head, "What?! Wait how? The both of you were at each other's faces, everybody here thought you were  _ fucking _ !"

"SHUSH!"

This was definitely  _ not  _ what she’d plan to do. Though he did relieve some tension.

“Don’t just say that! There are kids around here, Old Man.”

He lets out a laugh, “Oh you know how life is Kiara. Kids will eventually curse once in their lives and no one stays innocent. Like how that Lady Ina–”

"Kiara!" Kiara looks over her shoulder to find the girl that the Old Man was about to comment on. Ina was looking lost, a worried look on her face when she didn’t see the familiar orange-teal hair around the District. “Kiara, we gotta go! Calli and Amelia had already gone home!”

The people around her shrugged her off, not even batting an ear when she approached and asked them questions. The sight made Kiara’s mind wander to her old dream.

“Ahh… Why don’t you look at that? The Lady Ninomae is here...” The old man says. He grunts as he brings his pack to his lap, “Here.”

Kiara expertly catches the item and stares at it, perplexed on how to react. “An… apple?” She said after a minute.

He pats her shoulder, his smile shifting into… something. “Don’t worry about the cleanliness. I’d just bought it when you got here.” He said, letting his exhaustion take over his voice, “Good luck out there, little phoenix.”

Even though she doesn't like being called that way, Kiara didn’t try to tell him otherwise, knowing well that he’ll just insist she’s a Phoenix. She stands and returns his exhausted voice with her smile, “I’ll see you here tomorrow, Old Man?”

“Of course... I’ll always be here when you need me.” He chuckles, “That’s the only thing I could do for you after you saved me…”

She nods and begins running toward where they’d last seen Ina.

She almost choked on her saliva when she caught up with the girl, the poor priestess got stuck talking to a merchant who looked like they were trying to convince Ina to buy something the girl didn’t need. “Honestly, she’s too kind sometimes…” She mutters and tackles her from behind, “Hello~! Excuse me, Lovely Merchant but this squid is my squid.”

“Oh, Kiara! She’s with you? Sorry ‘bout that.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, seeing the girl who saved their town.

“Pshh! No problemo. Ina doesn’t know how to turn down someone, if she weren’t with me, you would’ve persuaded her successfully.” The two shared a laugh, as if what Kiara said wasn’t something that was connected to kidnapping if taken out of context.

Ina deadpans. She crawled out of her grasp and placed a fixated glare on her, “There you are. Didn’t I tell you we’d meet at the Guild after finishing our Quests? Or have you already forgotten?”

“Nope. Definitely a no.” They began walking away from the merchant, Kiara waving him goodbye. “How could I forget that?”

Ina narrows her eyes at her, “Because you’re Kiara Takanashi.”

She clears her throat and narrows her eyes back, “Excuse me, that’s a Mori Calliope move there.”

The priestess smiles, conceding, “Yeah I guess you’re right.” She looks at Kiara from head to toe, her eyes landing on the apple she held. “Where’d you get an apple? I thought this Region forbade fruits…”

“Oh! I bought it.” Kiara easily covered up.

“Isn’t that… illegal?”

“It’s only illegal when the government knows about it.” She does a shush gesture and throws Ina a wink. “Plus, it’s not like the stalls don’t sell Apples and Oranges around these parts.”

Ina hums, looking around them confirming Kiara’s statement, “I guess you’re right…” A sudden chuckle draws out from Ina, she tries to cover the sound but ultimately fails leading to Kiara looking at her skeptically.

“What’s so funny?”

“You have a charming aura, did you know that, Kiara?” She says.

The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully, “Of course I know. I get to be friends with Calli for such a long time as proof.” Ina chuckles, amused at her proudest accomplishment, “Or… you’re talking about an entirely different charm.”

“Yes. I was talking about a different one.”

“Thought so.”

They walked silently after that, contempt in letting the hustle and bustle resonate on them. Let the relaxation finally come to them after a day filled with hardships. At least that’s what Ina felt for a fraction of a moment, only for it to be shattered when the other of the party felt curious.

She could feel her aura beside her, silently prodding for her to tell her what kind of charm she had. It seems she’d poked a little too hard on her door.

Ina turns to face her with a smile, “You really want to know?” Kiara nods eagerly, “Okay, but first off. I want to know if you have any Luck Based Items.”

With a nod from the priestess, Kiara opens her inventory and lets Ina fumble with it. She watches as Ina scrolls through her items before switching to another tab, showing the equipment Kiara wore. 

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and Kiara did too. Everything she equipped was a physical  strength based. No magic. No luck. “That’s a little weird…”

“What’s weird?” Kiara broke her gaze to tilt her head at Ina. She probably doesn’t know what she was looking at but Ina knows better. “Is it because I have a lot of Physical Strength Items? Yeah I noticed as well, Calli gave me some armour last week that had the same Strengths but a much stronger defense. But it looks like I still have a long way to go before I can wear it though.”

That was some good background information but that wasn’t what was bothering Ina. “Can you show me your statistics later at home?”

“Geez, Ina. If you wanted to see me naked, you should’ve just said so.” Kiara eats up the flustered stuttering Lady Ninomae Ina’nis by her statement, this girl was adorable. “Sorry sorry. What’s the reason? You know Calli might have a problem with that.”

Oh right, there was the other horse to deal with. Ina slouches, “Oh… I forgot about her…”

Kiara stops and stares at Ina for a moment. Ina held the stare, fingers ready to cast a spell to counter if Kiara will suddenly hug her without permission. Again.

Then the Fire Girl smiles and begins walking again, “I’ll tell Calli not to worry. Just tell me when you want to take a peek.” Ina was about to sight in relief, but Kiara had other plans, “Only if you let me see your stats as well. Fair deal?”

Kiara holds her hand out. Ina smiles and shakes it, “Deal.”

“Okay now come on. Gura’s last Quest should end by the time the edge of Sunce’s Sun reaches the horizon. We don’t want our cute Aqualian to wait now don’t we?”

“Kiara…”

“Yes?"

“We’ve already arrived.”

“Huh?!”

The girl looked around and Ina was right, they  _ were  _ at the Guild.

“You guys got here late…” Gura quips from the side, eyes focused while she plays with lighting in her hands.

In response, Kiara chuckles sheepishly.

~

“We’re back...” Gura calls out as they enter the room, Kiara closing the door behind them.

Amelia looks up from the piles of paper on their living room floor, “Welcome back!” She replied, “What took you so long? Did something happen?” The blonde lets out a squeak when Gura and Ina suddenly flops by her side, exhausted.

“Kiara took a detour again and we got lost…” Gura complains, turning to Ame and burying her face in her neck. Amelia smiles awkwardly at the aqualian and pats her head as an indignant whine left her lips “It was a nightmare.”

Ina shifts on Ame’s lap and lets out a loud groan, “We were lucky we ran into those Kingdom Guards and asked them for directions, if we wouldn’t, we would have been lost after Sun Down…”

Kiara rolls her shoulders, tired of carrying their heavy sacks. “Oi, stop complaining! You weren’t the ones who had to carry bags of I don’t know what’s in it for the whole way!”

Amelia narrows her eyes, “So something shiny  _ did  _ catch your attention.” The way the ginger blushed in embarrassment made Ame chuckle in amusement, “What’s wrong, Kiara? Cat got your tongue.”

“My tongue is fine, thank you.” She said with a huff, “Where’s Calli?”

“She’s in her room. Working on some spell.” Kiara was about to bolt upstairs when Amelia clicked her tongue, “I recommend you not bother her… she’s been a little uptight since the last Quest.”

Kiara waves her dismissively, “Oh don’t worry about that. I can make her talk to me about what happened.”

Amelia reaches her hand out, half trying and half not trying to stop Kiara from bothering the shadowling. Only to give up with a sigh when the girl was nowhere to be found.

“And what happened on your side?”

“The client said something that pissed off Calli…”

“Oh Kiara’s going to get her butt kicked.”

“Not… really..?”

~

Kiara didn’t bother knocking on their shared room. She enters the room with a bright smile and her trademark greeting, only for her voice to die out when she finds Calli just casually sitting there.

Huh… to be honest, Kiara kinda expected for Calli to be miserably rolling around her bed while muttering the enchantments and then cursing to herself when she made a mistake. Seeing her quiet and still was weird.

Calli rises her head and looks over her shoulder. Her eyes widen when she sees Kiara there, hurriedly she closes her notebook and inhales the item in her inventory.

The shadowling stands abruptly and looks down at her desk.

“Hi…” Kiara awkwardly said. After a beat passed, she walked up to her slowly. Step by step. “I heard from Amelia the Quests didn’t go that well. More emphasis on the Last one of course.”

Calli sighs and sits back down, slumping on her own as she massaged her temple. “I told her not to tell you about that…” 

A little angry, Kiara asks, “What? Why?”

“Don’t sound angry about it. The reason’s just… very  _ very  _ stupid.” She turns her body to face Kiara, “If I recall we have some things to prepare?”

“You really won’t tell me..?”

Calli flinches a little when she sees the look in her eyes. Kiara had done that many times before, even way back when she was still warming up to her new friend. That look, from Calli’s experience, was one of her deadliest moves.

Ina told her that it was stupid of her to think that way about Kiara’s expression. But it was true Calli felt incredibly vulnerable whenever she saw her do it, even if it wasn’t directed toward her.

She sighs, “Fine…” A shine shimmered on her eyes and Calli felt like she can fly when she sees this. 

Kiara then waddles to sit on the edge of her desk and looks at her intently.

“The Last Quest… was successful.” Kiara tilts her head curiously, then nods, prodding for her to continue. “And I didn’t like how it ended…”

Kiara hits her softly on the head, “Just get to the point already. We don’t have all night and I still have to prepare Dinner.”

“Okay!” She bats Kiara’s hand away and sighed, “They said some things that didn’t sit well with my stomach. Things about how unfortunate of them to have a Watson and a Shadowling as their guide. They should be fucking grateful that we killed all those Monsters without steeling their loot and protecting them when a D Rank appeared out of nowhere!” She opened and closed her mouth a few more times before she sighed heavily, “It’s just unfair…”

Kiara smiles at her. This side of her friend was something she was always cautious of since they were kids because Calli can do a lot of unpredictable things when she’s vulnerable. But ever since visiting Ynarinma, Kiara felt more bold when it came to talking to her.

Something happened then and she was happy to embrace that.

She stands and wraps her arms around her head, pulling her in for an unexpected hug. She places her chin on her head as she strokes her hair, “There you are again, acting like a child…”

“We were the ones being abused, Kusotori. It wasn’t us that bullied them.” Muffled Calli’s response.

Kiara pulls her head away and brings Calli’s face to look at her, “You know what I mean, Calli. That kind of thing never bothers you. You just felt mad for Amelia didn't you? And felt bad for the children there to have rude people as parents?” She chuckles, “We really need to improve our ways to handle things..." Calli looked uncertain, and Kiara reassures her with a small smile, "While not as crazy as when I go through it, we hold the same goal.”

She bumps her face on Kiara’s abdomen, hiding her reddening face. “Shut up…”

The two shared a quiet laugh.

“Knight Buddies?”

“Knight Buddies.”

~

“...and that’s the sitch.”

“Is that supposed to be bad?” Ina says, entering the living room again, carrying a tray of apple juice. She sits at the opposite of where Gura and Ame sat as she hands out their respective glasses. “Wait, was being a Shadowling ever bothered her?”

“Not really. She was probably a lot more pissed when she heard him whisper things about my bloodline.” She looks up to stare at the ceiling. “Something about bringing curses if they are at a specific distance around me-"

“WHAT?!”

Ina jumped a little at Gura’s outburst. The aqualian moved away from her spot in Ame’s neck to stare at her in some kind of shock. Even with that expression, Ina handed Gura her shark designed mug to which she gratefully accepts.

“Who are they and where do they live?” Gura asks, pumping her fists together as lighting crawled through her arms.

Amelia stared at the girl for a moment, before a small smile made its way to her face and she began laughing. Gura tilts her head, clearly not knowing what was going on, and her face was just too hilarious. She pouts when Ina joins in Ame’s laughter. 

After a couple of minutes, the blonde places her hand on her shoulder. She looked like she was holding back another fit of laughs as she maintained eye contact. She snorts and looks away, “Sorry… there’s no need for violence, G-Gura… pft-”

Ina laughs, the rim of her glass just on her lips though she didn’t look like she was going to take a sip.

“G-Gura.”

“Yes, Ame..?”

Ina and Amelia stay quiet for a moment, taking in her expression. Then, in unison, the two doubled down laughing.

“Hey what’s so funny?” She said with a frown, glancing between Amelia and Ina, searching for an answer on their eyes. To no success.

Amelia scoots closer and Gura scoots away. The blonde lets out another snort and scoots again, seeing she wasn’t going to give up Gura sighs and stayed put. She felt a heavy hand on her head. “Jeez, Gura. You’re so adorable-”

Gura looks at Ina when she heard the girl snort, “That’s vague, Watson.” Ina said then continued her quiet laugh.

Gura squawks when the blonde ruffles her hair and she pushes it away, “Ame!” She whines.

“Our little, Aqualian can’t be this cute.”

“Excuse me, I am 183 years old.”

She stares at her before standing, a grin on her lips. “Still little.” She fist bumps with Ina as she passes her and goes to the Kitchen.

“Ina! Heeeelp me!”

“Small problems require small solutions.”

“INA!!”

“Those two upstairs are definitely making out aren’t they?”

Ina shrugs, “Probably.”


	2. Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes into a newly discovered Dungeon just outside the City. Since it's been a long time since all of them had engaged battle together, the trip would be fun.

Just before the sun rises, Ina awakes from her slumber and begins doing her morning chores. Since she was the only one that’s used to waking up at that time, the group reluctantly decides for Ina to exchange their crystals and take care of the morning financial management. It was adorable how they were aware of how much responsibility that falls onto one person, and in the earliest of mornings nonetheless.

First thing Ina does in the morning was to collect their income from Quests in the Guild. After that, she goes and pays for their daily boxes of Supply Crates and the fee for the Tavern Room. She proceeds to go and buy ingredients for Breakfast and the minute she comes back, she wakes Kiara from her sleep.

The two of them work together early in the morning. While Ina had cleared their financial side of things, Kiara was the one that takes care of their tummies and mental health. She cooked them breakfast, started gathering their laundry, and cleans the rooms to negate stress.

As soon as the food is done, Ina goes to wake up the other three for breakfast. That’s usually how their morning routine goes and nobody had any objections after a couple of years.

“So…” Amelia trailed off with a yawn that she tried to hide with her hat. She looked around to find the attention had landed on her, “Since it’s a Sunday, why don’t we go and check out the new Dungeon the Villagers discovered last Wednesday?”

You can pinpoint the moment the excitement started buzzing in the room. Bright smiles immediately plastered on their faces.

Gura raises her spoon, “Count me in!” Though her grogginess still has her in its hands, that didn’t stop her extra appendage to show its excitement, adding more joy in their confined space.

Kiara does the same and raises her own spoon, “I’ll be coming as well!” She squeals, “I’m sooo excited to map out the place! This is going to be so much fun, right Calli?” She turns to the pink-haired shadowling with the knowing smirk placed on her lips.

Calli reciprocates the smirk with her own as she casually sips on her drink, “Sure. Whatever you say, Kusotori…”

Noticing the interaction, Ina’s ears twitched in attention. She rolled her eyes then turned to their blonde teammate, “Where are we going, Ame?”

“It’s by the North-East Border. They said it’s a bit hidden by some magic veil but luckily…” She reached down her coat’s pockets and brought out an enchanted compass, “Someone was kind enough to give me the coordinates, in exchange for sixteen Razor Claws.”

“Cool.”

“Nice job, Ame!”

“Alright, Team.” Gura started, eagerly looking at each and everyone of her friends with the usual hungry look for exploring. “We’re going on this journey together, we’ll have each other’s backs. So we better get out with awesome loot!” She extends her hand to their shared bedroom and her trident darts to her hand. She raises the weapon and lets out an adorable battle cry.

Kiara laughs loudly, “Yes, but before we go, finish each of your morning chores. We’ll meet up at the Guild and leave just before Sunce’s sun reaches its peak, so do it quickly m’kay?”

The three on the other side of the table nods sharply then goes back to eating. With how long they’ve postponed adventuring with one another because of their bankruptcy, this was going to be their first time treading into unknown territory with a lot of possibilities.

===

Ina paused revising spells from her grimoire when she saw a familiar figure approach her. She smiles kindly at Calli who nods and stands next to her, waiting for the rest of their Party to arrive.

She goes back to her weapon after she notices the floating rock Calli had on her hand. This was exciting. Even though she was quite reserved and normally wouldn’t show her excitement openly, after being away from _this_ , the normal buzz in her chest turned into visible restlessness to go out there and fight beside her friends.

She closes her grimoire when she reaches the blank pages, teasing her of how many spells she can still fit there. Teasing her of the knowledge she could learn. She might learn a new spell in this adventure, something that involves switching places with her teammates with inanimate objects to prevent them from getting injured because they were far too excited. That would be helpful in the long term.

A sound catches her attention. She looks to her side when she notices Calli breaking the rock piece by piece using her telekinesis then reassembling them to form another shape, then she breaks it again and reforms it, the process continuing on.

Ina was mesmerised, Calli rarely shows off her spells. She was more onto the brute strength and flexibility, with the weapon she chose. To see one of the most difficult passive spells be used this way was like finding a diamond in the mine. At least that's how Ina feels.

She probably got a little too excited because Calli clears her throat for her attention. She looks up. “Do you… want me to teach you this..?”

“Hmm?”

“You looked like you wanted to try it.” The rock fell on her hand. Calli looks from the object then at Ina with an uncertain look. Suddenly, she hands Ina the rock, “Here. This wouldn’t be that hard for you since you’re a Mid-Class Mage.”

Ina awkwardly looks at the rock in her hand, not knowing what to do.

“First, you gotta make it float. You know how to get the molecules to move right?” Ina nods, feeling nervous as she listened to Calli’s instructions. She feels like she’s back home listening to Nee teaching her the basics of everything. “Okay good job. Now, you know how Kiara performs fire ragdolls whenever she tells her stories? Yeah, I want you to imagine that to try and rotate the item.”

Knowing exactly what Calli was talking about. Ina closes her eyes for a moment to remember how Kiara’s voice narrated the story she unfolds with the figures of her fire. She smiles and does that, her awe filling up her chest when it rotates like how she wanted it to.

Calli chuckles, “That’s good. Next, for you to break chunks off of it is simple. You often help Kiara with cooking our meals right?” Again, Ina nods. Her determination shining through her eyes, “And you know those times when you cut a vegetable the wrong way? I want you to do that.”

“But… why not a clean cut?”

“You can do that!” Calli said hurriedly, “It’s just, if you want to make new shapes from something, you gotta blindly cut pieces. That’s… how I do it…” The more Calli explained her reason the softer her voice became with a red blush slowly making its way to her cheeks. “Clean cuts work too…”

Ina held a small smile as Calli explained, amused at her behaviour. She closes her eyes to focus and tries to do as Calli had said.

The shadowling lets out a sound and when Ina opens her eyes, she finds three separate pieces floating in her hand. She lets out her own sound and turns to Calli with sparkling eyes.

Calli gave her a thumbs up, “In gluing them together, you simply need to cast a spell.” She holds her hand out and Ina takes it without another thought. Magic flowed through their link, “Here. Kiara’s the one that taught me this. It’s a simple sealing spell.”

“Wow…” Ina says, “How long have you been doing this?”

Calli hums, watching as Ina easily moved the rock and formed different shapes. “Since I met Kiara I think? Since I can’t produce flames like her, she taught us telekinesis accidentally. Told me to move a stick and another to make a person, then make them move. Though it wasn't as elegant as hers, we still played like there wasn’t even a difference.”

Ina chuckles, “Sometimes I really think Kiara means more than a friend than you…” She looks up at the sky, “Ame and Gura think so as well... Can I have this rock?”

“Uhh sure.” She answered awkwardly, not knowing what to say from what Ina said.

Luckily for her, she didn’t have to think about it too much because two of their friends came running their way and another fell from the sky.

Ina and Calli smile at their comrades.

“Hey, guysh…” Gura said through tears and a flattened face. “I wash shrying to fly on my thrident to geth here firsht… And I did!” The aqualian celebrated her small win while being glared heavily by the other two that lost.

“That was cheating.”

“Definitely.” Amelia agrees.

Gura points a finger at the blonde, “Says the girl that has a Time Trait!!”

“Well I didn’t know we were supposed to use our Traits!” She retorts, grabbing Gura by her neck and traps her in her arms while ruffling her hair. The girl squealed loudly.

Kiara enters the truffle and starts tickling Gura, her squeals going higher and louder the longer she was trapped in this idiot sandwich. “If we did, _I_ would’ve won! I can fly waay faster than any of you, mortals!”

Amelia scoffs, “What did you say, Shit Bird?!?! I’ll win for sure!”

Gura jumps off of Ame’s arms when the blonde's attention moved to the other. She bounced in her place with her tail, a wide, teasing grin on her face, “Nope! I won using my big brain! I won!! Wooooop!”

“Still cheating…”

Glaring at Watson, she pouts then turns to the tallest in their group, “Calli! I won didn’t I?!”

“Wat?”

“Hey unfair!”

“Calli~ The strongest Shadowling of Diŕlevoùr~ Charmest girl in the world and Love of my Life~ Tell your daughter that she was cheating.”

“Wat the fu-”

“Now _that’s_ cheating!” Ame and Gura both shouted, “You can’t use the Lover Card when talking to Calli!!”

Kiara twines her arm with the shadowling, drawing out red blushes on both of their cheeks. “Why can’t I?” Calli sighed heavily and turned to Ina with a painful expression. The priestess looks at her with the same old look.

===

“Now _that’s_ what I call a good warm-up!” Gura announces triumphantly from Calli’s shoulders, waving the two huge sacks of coins, the fruit of their labor. “There was so much stuff there! We should go back the next Sunday, Kiara! I know we still haven’t cleared that yet.”

Calli pats the girl on her shoulder’s thighs, “Gura… please control your tail…”

The aqualian looks down, “Sorry, Calli…”

Kiara yawns and smiles sleepily at Gura. She was right beside Calli, leaning on the girl with their arms linked, but not actually linked, just loose. “Sure… I don’t mind…”

“Next time we go though… let’s not take too long…” Ina’s comment was barely heard from behind. She was clinging onto Calli’s back, already half-asleep from low MP and what time it was.

The five(two) were walking down the dark streets of Vernalla, the moon shining above them. Since it’s been quite some time they hadn’t been in a fight together, they overdid the one they did earlier. Thus when they exited, the moon was at its highest point and there were barely any people at the streets.

Calli had offered Ina to have a piggyback ride, which she accepted because she was tired. As soon as they’d started walking, Gura began complaining how her legs hurt, so Calli offered to have a seat on her shoulders. 

After they exchanged their crystals from the Guild, Amelia passed out. She was probably the one that expanded too much, using her trait left and right covering for her team’s small slip ups continuously for hours with no end. Kiara carried the blonde on her back and they made their way back to their Tavern.

Despite being exhausted, what they did was fun. The smiles on their faces, the new equipment they found from a couple of rare chests, and the sacks of coins were proof of it.

Kiara opens the door for Calli, who carefully ducked down to prevent the already asleep Gura on her shoulders to hit the arc above. After the door closed, Kiara settled back to holding Calli’s arm while the shadowling told the Receptionist the situation and he casted a teleportation spell on them back to their room.

The two who remained awake placed their three sleeping comrades in their respective beds, trying their best to not wake them up from their slumber.

Calli lets out an ‘oof’ when she feels a heavy weight on her back. She looks over her shoulder to meet with Kiara’s half-lidded eyes, “You should sleep already…”

The girl shakes her head, burying her face in Calli's disheveled hair, “I don’t think I can sleep with an empty stomach…”

Feeling the exact same way, Calli turns around and picks up Kiara from the floor. The normal bubbly girl had been reduced to a limp, half-awake child. Not that Calli minded picking her up, she’d done that many more times than she can count and had already got used to her mumbled complaints and teases close to her ear. It was a habit by now.

She leads them to the Kitchen and places Kiara on the counter top, making sure that the girl isn't going to flop down when she turns around. Kiara made a small sound and settled in her position, that was the only thing Calli needed before she turned to make them some food.

The shadowling hands Kiara a chicken sandwich they made for lunch while she munched on her own. She jumps to sit beside Kiara.

Kiara automatically leans on her, humming in appreciation that she didn’t go straight to sleep.

As soon as they’d finish, Calli softly shakes Kiara awake before jumping down to fetch them some water. When she came back, she couldn’t help a small, knowing smile sneak to her lips when she found her happily waiting for her with their respective mugs in her hands.

She pours them lukewarm water, the liquid activating some of their sleeping muscles, letting them know where it aches the most.

Calli placed their glasses on the sink and they made their way to their room. She noticed Kiara swaying a little as she walked, she didn’t hesitate to grab the girl on the shoulder and make her turn to her direction. Once again, she carried the girl.

After she tucked Kiara to her bed, silently watching as the girl quickly pulled her covers tightly around her, as if she was pretending that someone was hugging her as she slept. Like old times.

She shook her head and began walking to her bed, only to stop when she noticed a foreign paper on Gura’s nightstand. Deciding she was fairly awake, she reads it:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I need to balance the interaction with the girls...
> 
> Updates are Mondays and Fridays


	3. Second-in-Command

Őzeanâ is a beautiful place. It’s known for the places never seen before to those who live on the surface. It is also known for the huge army sitting stagnant, waiting for an attack that never comes for the past three hundred years. 

Aqualians from that Kingdom are labelled as ‘paranoid’ or ‘crazy’ because of this army. Their citizens are also affected with how much they hide themselves from foreigners that visit.

Gura doesn’t like it. She really doesn’t like it. From years of being ignored and pitied, the way the place she grew up in, was shaped, placed an uneasy feeling in her chest. She tried asking the King and Queen only to be thrown into another one of those endless patrols by the Ravine. They made it clear they don’t want anyone to know the reason, and Gura dedicated most of her free time to crack the case.

In the end, nothing came up. It’s either they hid it well or their bloodline was just that scared about the things around them. It makes Gura laugh to share a species with them, if the High Council ever read her memories…

So she stopped. She stopped finding answers to all of her questions and settled in the life of a Soldier. It was for the best if she wanted to have stable income and life.

At least that’s what she thought, but after thirty years of serving the Royal Family, someone came to her life and changed her perspective dramatically. Someone she feels was capable of anything. It fascinated her to think of such a person.

She can remember it clearly even after twenty years. Long blonde hair tied into a ponytail with a smile that reached her eyes. She had a hair clip that reminded Gura of the old days, where she happily went on countless adventures with her childhood friends. Her voice calmed her panicked side.

And on that day, she realised how much she wanted to be praised. How much she wanted other people to talk to her and trade stories with her. It isn’t a big revelation for other aqualians, but when she felt her warm hand on her head, she suddenly felt overwhelmed with the emotions she didn’t know she’d bottled up.

Gura tries finding her, leading to a deadend of course, there weren’t that many blondes down in Őzeanâ. She asked for a three-week vacation and dedicated that time to find her above sea.

It led her to another deadend. There was no sight of her, not even a trace of her existence. It was like she was never there, like she only existed in her head. But she  _ knew  _ she was real, she felt it. She felt her there. She has proof.

The photograph was proof of her existence. A photograph of Amelia Watson. 

But  _ she _ wasn’t Ame…

===

Gura groans as Dreamland slipped away from her grasp and she was back to reality.

Another sleep wasted because of bad memories…

Reluctantly, she sits up and rubs the sleep off of her eyes, trying to adjust to the lighting around her. She looked from left to right and slowly, her grogginess started to leave her. Her body woke up next and the first thing it demanded was water for her dry throat. A hand came up to massage it, she probably shouldn’t have shouted so much earlier in the dungeon.

A small flick of recognition passed her features.  _ Oh right… We went Dungeon Diving… _ The last memory she had before passing out was Calli scolding her about her tail. She looked around and realised she was in their shared bedroom. Calli and Kiara must’ve carried all three of them back here.

The corners of her lips twitched upwards.

Gura threw her blanket to the side and climbed out of bed. She approached the bed to her right silently and placed a kiss on her forehead, “Thanks, Kiara…” She murmured, giggling when the girl tugged her blankets tighter around herself.

When she turned to the other person that carried them home, she paused. The bed was neat and empty. Calli wasn’t there. She raised an eyebrow at the situation and turned to the door to find it wide open.

_ Is she still working this late? _

Calli was sitting quietly on the couch, back straight. Her work is important to her, everyone knows that, but she needs to take a break sometimes, especially after they’d just gone Diving for hours on end. 

Gura cracks a yawn, drawing the tall girl’s attention. She flops down next to her and makes herself comfortable, “What are you doing working at this hour?”

“And why are you still awake at this hour?” Calli said.

The aqualian glances to look at her in the eyes. She doesn’t look tired on the outside, but as Gura stroked her trembling hand, she knew she’d had enough for today. She sighs, “Come on, Calli… let’s go back to bed."

“Do you want a snack, Gura?” It was clear she didn’t want to go to bed. Gura was already prepared for that. She sits up and starts tugging Calli’s cloak, “No, I’m serious. You haven’t eaten dinner.”

“Oh…”

Calli shakes her head and stands with her, now she was the one tugging her clothes, dragging her to the kitchen. “I’ll make you a chicken sandwich.” She opened the fridge and cabinets, bringing out the necessities.

Gura settles on the counter-top, watching curiously how Calli moved, efficiently and effectively.

“So…” Her attention was directed back to the person that’s making her late night snack. “Bad dream?” Their eyes met for a moment, letting Gura know that she can lie.

Knowing the girl had good intentions, she sighed heavily. “Memories…”

“Ah…” Calli placed the bun on top of the ingredients and handed it to Gura. “Do you… wanna talk about it?” Gura chomped on her food, watching from the corner of her eyes as Calli joined her to sit on the counter-top.

“Its…” She started and she was already trailing off, she obviously didn’t know how to voice her problems very well. Well, the members of their party don't know how to voice their problems well, so was that a win for her? She doesn’t know as well. “It’s about  _ her _ …”

She can feel Calli’s gaze linger on her fingers before she hums thoughtfully.

“I still don’t know why she’s still in my mind after all these years… it feels weird to think of someone else while I have…” She silenced herself by chomping on her sandwich again, the red of her cheeks reaching the tips of her ears.

Calli chuckles, “While you already have someone else?”

She wipes her lips and nods bashfully. “...yes…”

“I see…”

“It’s not like we’re dating or anything!!” She rushes to say, her sandwich ammo already in the depths of her stomach. “I…”

“It’s okay, Gura. I know what you’re talking about, no need to panic.” Calli said, “I’m not like Kusotori and the others. I won’t tease.”

She looks down to her hands, “Calli…”

The shadowling hums.

“Can you come down for a sec? I have something I want… to do.” Her nervousness began bubbling in her chest when Calli looked at her in slight confusion before she started leaning down. She pulled the girl down so she can plant a kiss on her cheek, “Thank you for bringing us back… and for talking to me…”

Calli smiles her way. She headpats her as a reward, “You’re welcome. I’m here whenever you guys need me, okay?”

Gura suddenly felt so powerful. The only time Calli praised her was back when they were still adjusting with each other’s presence. Which was the start of this Party.

She smiles at Calli, “Yeah…” Calli watches as Gura jumps down the counter top and walks back to her room. A beat passed before Calli suddenly felt like she had forgotten something.

“Well, I’ll probably find out tomorrow…” She jumped down the countertop with a yawn and made her way to the living room subconsciously. When she realises what she’s doing, she pauses and looks around.

Seeing as her body wanted to do something here, she huffs and starts looking as requested. That’s when her eyes landed on the coffee table where an open envelope and a letter resided.

Dread churned in her stomach as she continued to stare at the papers. “I messed up…” She mumbled, slumping forward in defeat with a sigh. Grabbing the papers, she squints at the presumable letters. After a few more seconds, she gave up. “Why do aqualians have a different language… The only thing I can recognise is Gura’s name…” She looks over her shoulder where the person in question had just gone to. “I’m going to ask her this tomorrow…”

Taking another glance at the foreign letters, she scratches her head and starts to head to the bedroom. Another yawn breaks her concentration and she stops for a moment to collect herself. Maybe she needs more sleep.

And with that she heads back to their room, repeatedly reminding herself about the letter over and over again until she falls asleep.

===

“A… letter?” Gura asks with the same confusion as the other three of their group. It was weird how synchronised they all acted, like they were twins of some sort but she knew they weren’t.

Calli nods, “Yup. I found it by your bed last night, tried reading it but no luck.” She slid the paper across the table.

Gura holds the paper up and squints, as if she was going to get some information by the envelope alone. 

Amelia deadpans. She knows that look very well when she sees it. “If you’re afraid about it then we can just burn it y’know.”

The aqualian scoffed and stood up, her chair almost tumbling away by the force, “This must be a message from their Majesties! I’m the Second-in-Command–”

“ _ Former  _ Second-in-Command.” Ina interjects

“I get it.” She glares lightly at Ina, “But I’m still a citizen of the Kingdom…” She said with a sigh, “It’s basically a duty if I get called back.”

Kiara and Calli exchange a glance. The former cleared her throat, bringing their attention at her, “Just open the letter and read it, Gura. We’ll go if it’s some kind of emergency that needs your attention-”

“Which is bullshit when you ask me…”

“Watson.”

“ _ But _ .” Her emphasis on that one word sent chills down their spines. She was always good at that kind of thing, suddenly being dangerous without a warning. You can see the glare she hides behind her neutral eyes, “If it says that they’re going to take you away from us, then I want you to burn it. No buts.”

Ina places her hand on her shoulder, the aqualian looks up with conflicted eyes. She smiles reassuringly, “It’s okay, Gura.”

Everyone’s attention returned to Kiara when the temperature of the room suddenly rose. The girl’s hair was floating and her hand was clenched tightly. “I’ll die before I’ll let them get those filthy hands on you…”

Calli holds Kiara’s clenched fist, calming her down before she burns the whole place.

Gura sighs and opens the envelope. As she takes out the paper, she feels the pressure of the room slowly weigh on her shoulders. The same kind of pressure she felt back then. What would’ve happened if she chose the other side..? What would happen to  _ them _ ..?

She shakes her head, chasing away those kinds of thoughts. Her eyes began scanning the page, reading it word for word, taking in every detail. The sentences formed in her head and as soon as she’d finished, her eyebrows were raised high in shock.

Because she was impatient, Amelia took the eerie silence as an invitation to move closer to where Gura sat. Now she was peering over her shoulder to try and read it, with no luck of course.

She pats her shoulder after Gura looked like she’d just come across a high level monster. “So? What does it say?”

The aqualian looks over her shoulder and sighs heavily. She shouldn’t have done that. The others seem to misunderstand it the minute she did.

Kiara stood from her chair, hair now ablaze. Calli was calmly seated beside her, but the murderous intent behind her eyes was a warning that she was about to commit crime. Ina’s face wasn’t visible for her, a shadow casting her features leaving her imagination to think what she looked like. And Amelia had the look that says ‘this motherfucker dares mess with me?’.

She holds her hands up, awkwardly trying to calm them down before  _ one  _ of them teleport away to kill the King and Queen. “It’s alright! They aren’t going to take me away from you.” Their relief was evident, the pressure felt lighter. “It’s just...my village got destroyed by some dudes…  _ and  _ they want me to fix it, I think...”


	4. Let’s go to the Ocean..?

With uneasiness, they agreed to at least check out the problem rather than ignore it. With the experience they have, ignoring this will likely bring them more bad than the good, which is  _ not  _ what they want one bit. While it was a group decision, Kiara wasn’t particularly fond of the Kingdom. Or rather, wasn’t fond of how they handle orders.

The normally talkative girl was silent the whole day. After eating, she quickly went and prepared for their trip, packing the tents, clothes and preparing pickled fruits and vegetables for the road. She gave each and everyone of them an emergency pack and their own portion of their camping stuff before leaving, probably going to cool her head so she wont make any irrational decisions or say something rude.

They understood her anger, they all felt that way one way or the other. She just has it harder.

Ina sighs, this was one of those situations that doesn’t need another person, and it kills her inside that she couldn’t help the people she’s closest to because of that. These kinds of situations suck. No matter how she looks, no matter how she reasons with herself this sucks.

“ _ This may be a human matter, but may I ask why are you feeling…  _ gloomy…” She hears its voice echo in her head, interrupting her thoughts and redirecting her attention.

Her ears twitched and she went back to making potions. Yes, she’s gotta focus on making them potions before letting those thoughts overcome her. The guardian in her mind humming thoughtfully. “It’s complicated.” She said after finishing a few more potions.

The voice inhaled as if it were wincing, “ _ Uhuh, that much is obvious. Is this another one of those ‘party member’ problems _ ?”

Ina pauses.

“ _ Oooh _ ! _ I hit the nail _ !  _ M’lady, help me hammer my curiosity. _ ”

Ina grabs the spare pack she had under her bed and proceeds to carefully place the potions inside, “You can claw all of the information you want from me, Guardian.”

It died down to silence. Ina smirked to herself, as soon as she placed the sack in her inventory, the voice bellowed in laughter. She managed a small laugh herself as it continued on. A small blob appeared on her shoulder who leaned on her head for support, “This  _ is why you are my favourite, Ina’nis _ .  _ You can keep up without fail _ .”

Ine turns to face the floating blob, “Didn’t the Elder warn you about picking favourites? Do you  _ want  _ to be punished again?”

It smiles, bright and wide. “ _ There’s her smile. _ ” She feels the familiar pat on her head it always gives her. “ _ I was worried that you’ve lost it, being too worried and all. Do you wanna talk _ ?”

She looks down, her smile fading the tiniest bits as she thinks of what might be going through Kiara’s mind. “I’m not sure.”

“ _ Okay. Well, from the centuries I’ve spent blessing your bloodline, I learned that talking about it makes it feel lighter, much more easier to carry as they say. _ ” Her expression was hopeful as she peeked from her bangs to meet with its eyes. “ _ Plus one of your ancestors- no wait, multiple of them actually, they said that I’m a good listener _ ! _ So try me, Ina’nis _ .”

She smiles and gives its head a soft pat, “Thank you, Bierce.”

The blob nods encouragingly then floats to sit on her lap. Snuggling like it always does when Ina feels bad, or when her emotions are abnormal and out of sync to the Elder.

Ina settles in stroking it’s head as she thinks of how to explain. “A colleague of Gura contacted her.” She could feel it pause in her hands, but she continued, “The letter said that some unknown group was out there destroying Coral Villages, Gura’s included. They… wanted her help. Probably thinking that our Party has dispersed after all these years.”

She hears it hum thoughtfully. It snuggles deeper in her arms, forcing her to adjust the way she strokes it. When she looked down, she was face to face with its eyes, its fang shining from the window’s light.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she continued to stare. She had much more to say, but the way it looked at her made her pause, made her think what was in it’s mind.

Then it’s eyes closed. “ _ So what happened? That’s not the only reason from what our earlier conversation had led to. _ ”

“Kiara’s mad that we’re going back to that place…”

“ _ Well from the looks of it, she isn’t the only one. _ ”

“Huh?” She looks dumbly at the blob. Her brain slowly comprehending what it means, “ _ Oh _ …” She said, “No, I’m not mad. I just want to know  _ how  _ I can help her go back to her cheery self without being a nuisa-”

It sighs, “ _ Ina’nis, it is clear that you want to help Kiara. _ ” It floats off her lap to meet her head-on, “ _ But that’s not what you really want to do, isn’t it _ ?” She looks away, ashamed of her thoughts. “ _ You’re mad that you’re going to go to them, you’re mad that  _ Gawr Gura _ still cares for that Kingdom even after what they’ve done to her. You’re mad… because of what happened to  _ you _. _ ”

Her ears drooped as she continued to listen to it. Everything it said voiced her soul, voice what she thought of the minute they all decided to ‘check up’ on them like that  _ KINGDOM _ is a child. A small and stupid child.

Bierce was telling the truth, it was always telling the truth. As much as she doesn’t like to admit it, it told her the truth of her emotions. It told her her desires.

She opens and closes her mouth, but no words come to mind. She didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t always someone who can understand people like her, people who have a reputation to uphold.

She feels it’s tentacles turning her head so she can face it. It’s translucent body shimmering under the sun’s light. “ _ Feelings and desires are complicated, Ina’nis. So you have to remember to remind yourself that it’s okay to be mad sometimes. It’s okay to feel uneasy from something that caused you pain. _ ” she feels a tentacle on her heart, “ _ Because no matter what, I know you’ll overcome it. _ ”

“Really..?” Her voice was soft as it quivered.

“ _ Of course. You can overcome it… _ ” It smirked, “ _ After all, you are my favourite _ .”

“Bierce.” She called its name as she laughed.

“ _ I think I did a good job today. _ ” It lets out a heavy breath, “ _ I’m sorry, My Lady, but I can’t keep up this form any longer. I’ll be in touch if you need me _ .”

Feeling a little bold, Ina reaches out and grabs one of it’s minimised tentacles, stopping it from returning in her mind. “Wait!”

“ _ Yes _ ?”

“Can I request you to wear a purple body from now on?”

It stared at her for a moment before bursting out laughing. “ _ Sure _ ! _ I’ll do it, for my favourite priestess _ !” It pats her head one last time, “ _ I’ll see you soon, Ina. _ ” It disappeared with a pop.

Ina shakes her head, feeling refreshed after her talk with her Guardian. She was blessed to have it, such a sweet blob she adores.

===

Amelia enters the room to find Gura staring blankly at the trident that lays peacefully on her bed. The azure color of her weapon shined from the sun’s glow, letting it glitter and show off its proper maintained steel and sharpness. It was a beautiful choice, Amelia had once thought, and she still does think so.

At first it didn’t make sense for a shark to hold a huge fork, but the more she spends her time with the both of them, she sees what Gura sees in it as well.

The blade speaks as if it were alive. It shines when it’s in its owner’s hand like some kind of greeting. And by far, it is the only weapon she knows that can withstand Gura’s Trait. Letting her lightning crawl and release a huge spectacle of her power. It surprises Ame to see such power from a tiny body, the first time she saw it, she didn’t believe it one bit.

Clearing her throat, she tried to rid her thoughts of Gura’s skill and intelligence in battle. She approached the aqualian and bonked her, “What are you doing staring off to space? Start preparing your grits, Calli said we’ll be leaving at Midnight.”

“Midnight?!” The girl turns around to stare at Ame with wide eyes, “Wait wait wait. Pause. Why Midnight?!”

Amelia narrows her eyes, “Well, as per the letter says, there are unknown enemies that are targeting the Coral Villages outside the Kingdom. Don’t you think it’s obvious that they’d contact as many of their strongest warriors and requested knights? The Royals are playing into the enemy's hands being too obvious like that.”

“A…”

She stares at the girl. Gura looked sluggish, her shoulders were lowered and her tail wasn’t moving as much as it always does on a daily basis.

Was this another one of those ‘comfort your friend’ situations. She sighs, Amelia was neither the one that needs comfort so she doesn’t have any kind of reference to be the one that comforts the other. She’d never been in that predicament before other than her Uncle, and the way her Uncle handles things… isn’t the most inspirational.

She groans internally and takes her hair clip off. Grabbing Gura’s chin, she forcefully made her face so she could faintly imagine where the perfect place for her to place the accessory. She ignored the aqualian’s squabbling and focused on the spot whilst the girl moved to no end.

Narrowing her eyes, she placed the clip on top of the spot. “H-hold still, Gura...” As soon as she let her sincerity escape her lips, the aqualian stopped moving.

She locked the clip in place and tidied up her hair. Smiling when the golden clock looked great in contrast with Gura’s snow white hair.

Amelia backed up a few steps and placed her hands on her hips, feeling proud at her good deed. She deserves a pat on the back for that, she’ll ask one from Ina later. “How is it?” She crosses her arms, a huge grin fixes on her lips.

Gura touched the clip and slowly, her cheeks turned red that soon creeped to the tip of her ears. This girl was adorable as she is and always will be.

“Give that back to me when you’re feeling much better, General.” Amelia ends her sentence with a wink then walks away.

“B-but!” The blonde stops at the door frame, “What if I want to keep it..?” She asked so bashfully that Amelia had to stop herself from grinning like a total creep  _ and  _ also thinking of handing one of her most precious item to a much more precious person.

She looks away quickly, cheeks also flushing red. “Nope.” She said, surprising herself of how calm and collected she sounded. “That’s a family heirloom. It has the magic of bringing joy to those who wear it.” Amelia looks over her shoulder to meet with Gura’s eyes, she could feel her knees shaking, wanting her to succumb to squealing at the scrunched up confusion on Gura’s face. “It’s a rare opportunity for me to hand out such precious gifts, so you better treat it like treasure. Don’t waste the effects.”

Amelia pulls on her hair to hide her red face as she exits the room, cursing under her breath for almost exposing her flustered look. She  _ cannot  _ afford another teasing from that fish.

“You’re such a doofus, Ame…”

Amelia hics.

===

“...this is taking longer than I thought…” Amelia sighs as she massages her temple.

Calli watches from a distance, a faint disdain burning in her chest as they all watch to say goodbye to Kiara’s latest ‘fanclub’. Every place with people, everytime she helps, there will always be some _ one  _ that makes something out of repayment for Kiara’s kindness. And everytime, it always ends up with a ‘fanclub’. She hates it.

Her attention diverts to the person beside her. Ina has that look on her face that tells you she was not prepared for what was happening. As if feeling her gaze, Ina looks up to meet Calli's eyes and smiles sheepishly. “It… got bigger, huh?”

Calli shrugs as a response. The girl almost fell to her face when a weight slammed her by the neck, “Yeah it did! Looks like the whole City’s now a crusade of supporters.”

Calli adjusted Gura on her shoulders when the aqualian felt like she was about to slide off, “Gura… what did I say about jumping on someone’s back?”

“Don’t surprise them.”

She looks up to see an upside down Gura face, “And what are you doing right now?”

“But that was  _ after  _ we finished the battle!! To avoid getting caught off guard when another group of enemies come near.” Calli walked backwards to avoid falling as Gura recited what she’d teach her while waving her finger like a teacher. “So what I’m doing now isn’t crossing any lines!”

“She’s got a point, Sheriff.”

Calli narrowed her eyes at the blonde, “Of course you’ll be on her side, Miss ‘we’re just friends’.”

“Back at ya, Miss ‘how can I be attracted to that idiot’!”

In the end of their bickering, the two were left blushing heavily.

Another weight slammed to her side and Calli groans, already knowing who’s warm body it is that decided to cling onto her, “Let me in on the fun too!” Kiara said, “Are you guys torturing Calli again or what? Because  _ I  _ have something that might be… effective.”

Calli feels her cheeks heat up, the way she glares down at the chicken was automatic. “Kusotori…” “What was that? Kiara Takanashi has something under her belt to add to the flame?” Amelia slides next to Kiara, copying her stance and expression. The smug expression almost all of them in their Party can do.

Ina joins in, “Another embarrassing thing?” The priestess shakes her head, acting all dismayed, “Tsk tsk tsk. Mori Calliope, such a weak shadowling.”

“Guuuuuuuuuuuuys!” Gura places her chin on top of Calli’s head with a huge pout, “Come on, stop that! I prefer to be on Calli’s shoulders today, it’s comfortable up here!”

Calli closes her eyes and adjusts Gura to a comfortable spot on her shoulders, “Gura’s right. Plus we have to get going, the nearest village is going to take us the whole day.”

“Boo…”

She glares at the two troublemakers, “Do you  _ want  _ to spend the night on a sleeping bag or a comfortable bed?” She nods to herself when the two look away, “That’s what I thought now let’s get moving.”

As soon as they started to head out, Calli got even more pissed when she heard the citizens cry out. She was so close to using her trait just so she could rid the unpleasant sound of some random guys shouting her best friend’s name.

Off to the ocean they go...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bierce best blob. Fight me.
> 
> Updates every Mondays and Fridays!!

**Author's Note:**

> Updates every Monday and Friday


End file.
